Headband for hearing guards



March 14, 1967 1.. c. ELDER HEADBAND FOR HEARING GUARDS Filed Sept. 9, 1965 United States Patent 3,308,480 HEADBAND FOR HEARING GUARDS Lorne C. Elder, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, assignor to Associated Spring Corporation, Bristol, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 486,130 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-209) This invention relates broadly to ear protective devices, ear phones and the like and, more particularly, to such devices which are supported by a headband passing about the rear of the head.

One of the principal objects of the invention has been to provide a headband for supporting an ear protective device which is of one-piece construction and is adaptable to all head sizes without adjustment. Another principal object has been to provide such a headband which is so constructed that when it is in place with the ear pieces covering the ears the entire device is biased toward the front of the ears rather than the back, whereby any tendency of the headband to slip off the back of the head is resisted and overcome.

The invention is described in the following specification and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the headband provided by the invention, without ear guards mounted therein;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the headband shown in FIG. 1, with one of the ear cups to be supported thereby being shown in phantom line;

FIG. 3 is a view which is similar to FIG. 1 but shows the ear guards mounted within the headband;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the head of a person wearing the ear protector device provided by the invention, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are partial perspective views of the headband provided by the invention, showing alternative means for supporting each ear guard.

The ear protector supporting device provided by this invention comprises a headband which is an elongated strip of spring metal designated generally by numeral 2 which is formed into a central outwardly-bowed lobe 4 and two outwardly-bowed end lobes 6, 8. The central lobe 4 is of such size and shape that it will surround the back of the head of a person wearing the ear protector device without touching the head, thereby causing the device to be adaptable to all head sizes without adjustment, it being apparent that if the central lobe were sized to engage the back of the head it could not fit heads of all sizes. Each end lobe is integral with the central lobe at its one end and is of such size and shape that it will accommodate a cup-type ear protect-or such as those shown at 10 in the drawings. Each of the three lobes is arcuate in shape and at the points of connection between the extremities of the central lobe and each end lobe the headband is formed into an obtuse angle as shown at 12 in the drawings. In the normal position and condition of the headband when it is not being worn the free ends 14, 16 of the end lobe are closely adjacent each other, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, whereby the central lobe will be resiliently expanded when the headband is placed about the head.

Each ear protector 10 is preferably circular or oval in cross section and has an outwardly bowed rear surface 20 which is accommodated by the size and shape of the outwardly bowed end part of the headband. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that in the normal un-extended condition of the headband, which is its condition when not in use, the flat inner surfaces 22 of the ear cups within the end lobes will be angularly related by an acute angle or a right angle and that, as shown in FIG. 4, when the central lobe is expanded to permit the headband to be worn 3,308,480 Patented Mar. 14, 1967 these inner surfaces of the ear cups will slightly converge toward the front of the head. Because of this and because of the resilient pressure of the entire band caused by the separation of the end lobes in placing the headband on the head, the entire device is biased toward the front of the head rather than the back. This resists and over-comes any tendency of the headband to slip oil the back of the head, thus increasing greatly its security when in place.

Means are provided by the invention for supporting an ear cup in each end lobe. In accordance with the invention the distance between the end parts of each end lobe is less than the maximum diameter of the ear cups which are to be used with the headband. Each end lobe has mounted thereon or formed integrally therewith a pair of axially aligned pintles such as those shown at 30, 30 and 32, 32 in FIG. 1 and each ear cup is formed with diametrically opposite means, such as recesses 34, for receiving these pintles, whereby each ear cup is pivotally supported within one of the end lobes. The distance between the pintles of each end lobe is normally less than the distance between the pintle receiving means on the ear cup,and the end parts of each end lobe must be resiliently separated in order to position the pintles within the receiving means on the ear cup, whereby each ear cup is resiliently held within its end lobe.

The pintles 30, 30 and 32, 32 may take any suitable form and may be separate pieces connected to the end lobe or may be integrally formed therewith, and various forms which the pintles may take are shown at 40, 42 and 44 in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The ear guard device provided by the invention has many advantageous features not found in known devices. The ear cups are retained in position in their respective end lobes by the spring tension of the end lobes and no screws or other loose parts are required to hold the parts in place. The ear cups may be easily interchanged or changed to other types merely by expanding the end lobes and removing and replacing ear cups. The pivoted connection of the ear cups within the end lobes permits easy swiveling of the cups so that they conform to the head of any wearer. The resilience of the headband and the fact that it normally holds the ear cups closely together causes the cups to be pressed securely to the ears and head when the device is in place on the head.

While I have described and illustrated certain forms which my invention may take, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains that other embodiments, as well as modifications of those disclosed, may be made and practiced without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits of which reference must be made to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A headset for protecting the ears, comprising a unitary integral headband formed from a strip of spring steel of substantially uniform width, said headband having an outwardly bowed central lobe and two outwardly bowed end lobes which are in the same plane as the central lobe and are connected respectively to the ends of the central lobe at obtuse angles to form a supporting part which is generally triangular in shape when not in use, a pair of axially aligned supporting means on each end lobe, and two car protector devices each of which is associated with one of the end lobes and has means by which it is pivotally mounted on the axially aligned supporting means on its associated lobe.

2. A headset according to claim 1, in which the central lobe is of such arcuate length that it will be spaced from a normal size head of a wearer when the headset is in use.

3 4 3. As a new article of manufacture, a headband for References Cited by the Examiner supporting two cup-type ear protectors, comprising a UNITED STATES PATENTS unitary strip of spring steel formed into an outwardly I bowed central lobe and two outwardly bowed end lobes, 2,883,671 4/1959 Hormckel 2 209 2,924,672 2/1960 Cagen 2-209 X the three lobes being disposed in the same plane, each 5 of the end lobes being connected to an end of the central y lobe at an obtuse angle, and a pair of axially aligned JORDAN FRANKLIN P r 1mm y Examiner means on each end lobe for supporting a cup-type ear G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner.

protector. 

1. A HEADSET FOR PROTECTING THE EARS, COMPRISING A UNITARY INTEGRAL HEADBAND FORMED FROM A STRIP OF SPRING STEEL OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM WIDTH, SAID HEADBAND HAVING AN OUTWARDLY BOWED CENTRAL LOBE AND TWO OUTWARDLY BOWED END LOBES WHICH ARE IN THE SAME PLANE AS THE CENTRAL LOBE AND ARE CONNECTED RESPECTIVELY TO THE ENDS OF THE CENTRAL LOBE AT OBTUSE ANGLES TO FORM A SUPPORTING PART WHICH IS GENERALLY TRIANGULAR IN SHAPE WHEN NOT IN USE, A PAIR OF AXIALLY ALIGNED SUPPORTING MEANS ON EACH END LOBE, AND TWO EAR PROTECTOR DEVICES EACH OF WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH ONE OF THE END LOBES AND HAS MEANS BY WHICH IT IS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE AXIALLY ALIGNED SUPPORTING MEANS ON ITS ASSOCIATED LOBE. 